Reality Comes Crashing In
by msrowley
Summary: On the night of Bart Bass's one-year death anniversary, Serena gets into a car crash. On the same night, Chuck and Blair experience a bump in the road of their relationship...one that leads to similar consequences.


_**Hey guys! It's me and I'm back! And I know what you're thinking, I should be working on **_**Right****In Front of You**_**. And I am, trust me. I'm doing my best to fight the writer's block that's drowned me in its horrible, horrible curse. Still, I found inspiration by re-watching **_**The Debarted **_**and I came up with this...and I just thought that all you Chair fans out there needed something to remind you of the good old days. I mean, don't get me wrong, I liked 4x08, but I mean that I wanted to flash you guys back to my favourite episode in season three, and I'm sure you guys love **_**The Debarted**_** as much as I do. So basically, what happens is, Serena still gets into a crash, and yet Blair does too. And well...you'll have to read to find out.

* * *

**_

"_People who need people are the luckiest people in the world." ~Barbra Streisand_

_Dream little girl  
On Lonely street  
Little runaway girl  
Do it again, do it again_

Serena van der Woodsen was tired of playing Marilyn Monroe. She was sick of being some thirty-something married politician's mistress. At first it was just an innocent childhood crush on Tripp van der Bilt when she was like...twelve, maybe? It was something she didn't expect too much from. And now, she ran away from home against her mother's protests, leaving Nate behind as well, got blackmailed by Maureen, and is now regretting working for Tripp. Or ever going near him. It had never occurred to her that she would be hurting so many people, and that there was already a possibility that her mother's marriage is going to get in trouble, if it wasn't already.

'_You can have him in private, but I get him in pubic_,' she recalled Maureen saying. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to be with her family and friends again.

'_I love Tripp, and I'd do anything to make him happy_.'

'_What makes him happy is being with me_,' she told Maureen. She even lied to herself.

She should have known. These kinds of affairs never last, and while they do, it isn't fun at all, with all the press and media trying to cover this story, and what more filth would be added to her name.

Serena didn't dare look at him during the drive. She just looked out at the window, hoping all of this would end soon. Bothered by the music that seemed to taunt her failure, she brought the volume down a little. From the corner of her eye, she saw Tripp turn to look at her before increasing the volume of the radio.

"If you don't mind," he said after turning the volume knob.

She finally looked at him. "I do," she replied coldly and reached for the knob again, only to have her hand grabbed by his.

"Serena, I can't stand this," he told her, before letting go of her hand, which she had tried to pull away from his. She looked out the window again, this time hoping he wouldn't say anything anymore. "I love you."

She turned her head to look at him again. _How_ _could he still lie like that after everything that's happened? _"Tripp, everything is ruined already," she explained. "It's too late."

He took another glance at the road and took a good look at her. "Serena, it doesn't have to be."

Serena looked at him for a second. For a moment, he seemed really sorry. But nothing can fix what just happened in the small time span of only twelve hours. She looked back at the road and felt her heart sink.

There were three wolves a few feet away from the vehicle, and Tripp didn't seem to be paying any attention to the road. "_Tripp_!" she shrieked.

He turned to look at the road and turned the steering wheel immediately. The tires screeched loudly and they both watched in horror as the car drew nearer and nearer to the cement railings, unable to stop itself.

They heard a crash, and Serena – who forgot to buckle her seat belt properly – involuntarily dove forward, her head thudding loudly against the wind shield. Everything went black.

* * *

Blair Waldorf dialled her boyfriend's number on her phone as she walked through the corridors of NYU. _Please pick up, please pick up...please, please, please pick up..._she thought as she put the device next to her ear. She only heard one ring, after that, nothing more. She looked at her phone. The screen read: _CALL IGNORED_. She sighed and bit her lip. Chuck can be so...Chuck. She knows he isn't shutting her out, it's just that he can be so cynical at times like this that it would be really hard to tell.

Her mind wandered to the conversation they shared earlier that day.

_She slowly opened his bedroom door and saw him lying fully clothed on his bed, with the back of his hands on his forehead, as though he was suffering from a migraine._

"_Thought you were meeting me for lunch," she said simply._

"_I had too much to drink," he replied almost lazily, uncovering his face a little then covering it up again, this time, turning his head away._

_Blair's face fell. "Oh...well, we'll just order room service."_

_He raised a hand from his forehead, as though trying to dismiss her or something. "Look, I really don't need you to take care of me."_

_Ouch. It burned. Hard. And she swallowed the lump in her throat. _He doesn't mean that...you know he doesn't mean it, _she thought to herself, convincing herself that this was just a hard day that will soon pass – that today was just a day his father wouldn't dare let him forget._

"_I know," she persisted, "how hard it was for you to let your guard down, to let me in...but you've changed." It's true. Chuck's personality and behaviour had changed, he had evolved into a real man, a man that Blair knew Bart never was._

_Chuck removed his hands from his forehead and slowly sat up on the edge of his bed. She noticed him rolling his eyes a little at what she had just said. It's like...he was a kid again, and he'd gotten in trouble for something and was called to the principal's office – it was like he was getting a lame-ass lecture from Headmistress Queller. His was looking straight ahead, almost like there was something there that was bothering him. Slowly, he got up on his feet and straightened his jacket._

"_I'm buying that building," he told her, rubbing his eye due to the disoriented vision that glasses and glasses of scotch always gave him._

_He didn't have to look at her to see that her expression had changed. It was already evident in her voice. "Chuck –" she started, but he interrupted her._

"_Don't tell me what to do," he stated firmly, walking towards her._

_She gave the slightest shake of her head. "I'm not," she replied, her voice nearly cracking. "Just...talk to me." She felt extremely disconnected. It's almost like she didn't even know him anymore._

_He moved closer to her, making her move back until she felt her back against the wall. He put his hand on the wall, still avoiding eye contact with her. "Blair, I need you to get out of here, now."_

"_Chuck –" she said, putting a comforting hand on his chest which he immediately removed._

"_Now."_

_He finally made eye contact with her, and she tried not to let her tears fall as she left the penthouse._

She stopped walking and thought for a while, but her thoughts were interrupted when her phone rang. She felt a rush, but looked down at the caller ID and it read _NATE_. Her face fell. Oh. Nate. _What does he want?_

She answered the call anyway and started walking to her dorm. "What is it, Archibald?"

"Blair, I need you at the Hospital right now," he replied seriously. This took Blair by surprise.

"What happened?" she asked, a sense of worry rushing through her.

"Serena..." Nate started, knowing it would be hard for her to take this, "got into a car accident."

Blair nearly dropped her phone. "W-What?" she stuttered, refusing to believe it.

"Look, it's a long story. I'll explain when you get here."

Blair nodded. "Okay. I'll see you there," she said and hung up, walking as fast as she could to the nearest exit. She looked left and right, hailed for a taxi, waiting for one to stop by to pick her up. In no less than ten seconds, one eventually stopped by in front of her and she got in without any hesitation.

"The Hospital please, and make it snappy," she told the driver. As soon as the cab took off, she dialled Chuck's phone number again, impatiently tapping her foot. _Come on Bass, please pick up...please..._The ringing stopped abruptly, and the screen read _CALL IGNORED_ for the umpteenth time that day, stressing her out even more. She took a few deep breaths. _Relax, Waldorf. Nate'll probably call him anyway_. _He better_. Blair noticed the taxi had stopped moving. She looked up and saw several vehicles in front of this cab. _Oh great_. The only thing there was to dislike about New York is the traffic...and Brooklyn, but that's another story. "Excuse me, but is there any other way to get to the hospital faster?" she asked the driver. That didn't sound like something a born New Yorker would ask, but she was running out of options and desperately needed to see her best friend, plus she hated hospitals; the cuisine, the smell. _Everything_.

"I'm sorry, Miss," the driver replied. "But traffic's too heavy tonight."

Blair sighed hopelessly. She looked to her left and noticed they were in the middle of an intersection. She looked to her right and felt her heart drop to her stomach. There was a huge speeding truck heading right for them, and it looked like the breaks were broken. Its headlights were blinking right at her, as though she was its chosen target. She edged away from the door as fast as she could, but the truck was too fast. Hopeless, she pressed her back against the door as hard as she could, shut her eyes tightly and braced herself for the pain. "CHUCK!"

* * *

Chuck Bass sat in the back of his limo, impatiently anticipating for his arrival at the homeless shelter he'll soon call an investment. Somehow – and he didn't know what fucking reason it might be – his father's ghost was haunting him. He was seriously seeing him everywhere. It's either that or he just had too much scotch. Well, maybe a little bit of both.

His phone rang and he checked the caller ID. _LILY_. Slightly surprised that it wasn't Blair, he answered it anyway. "What is it now?" he asked her, a little colder than he intended.

"Charles," he heard his ex-step mother say over the phone. "Listen, I know you don't want to do anything but work tonight, but Serena has gotten into a car accident. Nothing serious though, but just try and visit her tonight, we're here at Nassau County."

His heart sank. Of all the stupid things Serena could have gotten herself into, it's a car crash? And why did it have to be today? Chuck wouldn't dare let anyone suffer from the pain he went through a year ago today, whether the accident was serious or not. "I'll see you there," he told her then hung up. "Arthur, change of destination, we're going to Nassau County."

To his horror, he was starting to hear voices again. _What are you doing? We're almost there, _he heard. _Everyone's waiting._ Chuck squared his jaw tightly, in an attempt to stop himself from screaming. _I'm sure they're gonna have a backup offer-_

"Would you just leave me alone?" he snapped before he could stop himself. He looked up and saw Arthur eyeing him suspiciously. "Get to the LIE," he barked, pointing forward. Arthur continued driving, but at the same time threw skeptical glances at him. He adjusted his scarf. "Stop looking at me." And he obeyed.

Chuck looked out the window and saw an ambulance with its back doors open, and a bed with a body he couldn't quite see with all the policemen blocking the way. When the limo moved forward, it allowed him to see what all the commotion was all about: a crash site involving a cab and a delivery truck. It is apparent that the truck had slammed itself against the side of the cab, leaving the poor yellow vehicle crushed like a contracted accordion. The side that was not hit looked relatively fine, not as squished as the side that did get hit.

This couldn't be Serena's crash, could it? _Nope_. Nate would be here. In any case, she'll be at the hospital anyway.

When he arrived at the floor of Serena's room at the hospital, he walked out of the elevator, he tried to ignore the wave of memories that had hit him, walking as fast as he could to wherever Serena's room was-

When all of a sudden, he heard some people crying out urgently from behind him, and the sound of hospital bed wheels gliding against the floor came with it. His stopped and turned to look.

There were a bunch of nurses surrounding a hospital bed and rushing it to a room urgently. Chuck stepped aside to let them pass and felt his heart drop to the floor when he saw that the face of the bloodied patient was very familiar.

"Blair?" he whispered, and followed the nurses without hesitation.

He followed them until they reached a room and the nurses had to go inside, bringing Blair's body with him. He was about to go inside, when one of the nurses stopped him by putting bringing a hand up to stop him.

"I'm sorry sir, but we can't let you in at this moment," she said.

"Y-You don't understand," he explained. "That's my girlfriend; I need to see if she's okay."

"Sir, I promise we'll let you see her, but not right now, she –"

"No, you don't understand, let me in," he persisted, his voice raising. He looked over the nurse's shoulder and saw her: pale, almost lifeless. His heart broke. She didn't deserve this, he did, especially after the way he treated her. The door slammed shut in front of him, knocking him out of his thoughts. He banged his fists against it a few times, and eventually gave up. He felt tears slowly spring to his eyes, but he didn't dare let them fall. He stayed there for a few moments, standing in front of the door and wondering if Blair would want to see him when she wakes up. _Of course not_. For a moment, he thought about leaving, but no, he couldn't just leave her here, whether she wanted him here or not. He had to see her. He had to make sure she was okay. He had to apologize.

Slowly, he let his hands fall to his sides lamely and walked away from the room to go to the waiting area. But his legs couldn't stand walking farther away from her any longer, so he stopped by a relatively empty corridor and let himself fall to the floor, his back against the wall.

His mind was racing through thoughts of Blair and the accident, and then it occurred to him that she was most likely part of a car accident...the car accident that he had passed by a few minutes earlier, and now he really hated himself. But he couldn't let his thoughts to get too far; he didn't want to think about what might have happened if the truck had squished the cab all the way.

He tried to even out his breathing; inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. And then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall, masculine figure slowly approaching him. He gave a small sideways glance and saw Nate (who probably just exited Serena's room to give her and her mother time to talk) walking towards him. He let out a breath as Nate sat on the floor beside him. Chuck just sat there, feeling the stare of his best friend on him, obviously waiting for him to say something.

"How's Serena?" he asked, not making eye contact with him. Nate resisted the urge to roll his eyes at hi changing the subject; he knew he was upset about something.

"She's gonna be okay," he replied anyway. Chuck nodded, but Nate could still tell he was upset about something.

A few moments of silence passed by and Nate dared to ask, "What's wrong?"

Even though he tried to even his breathing, he couldn't. He couldn't calm down knowing that the only woman he loves is badly injured, and it was most likely his fault. His breathing was heavy. He didn't know where to begin to tell him what happened. He didn't even know the whole story. "Blair, she – she's hurt, I – I wasn't able to apologize for the way I treated her this morning, she got into a car accident, and I didn't even know until now," he managed to say. "Today wasn't exactly the best day for me."

_Oh yeah. _Nate almost forgot, today is the one-year death anniversary of Chuck's father. Blair was probably trying to do her best to stand by Chuck, but Chuck, being Chuck, probably pushed her away. Standing up, he said, "Well, is she okay? Where is she?"

"I don't know," Chuck replied, trying his best not to look at him. "Somewhere down that hall, they're still checking on her condition."

Nate looked down and felt sorry for his best friend, who was broken down on the floor, on the verge of tears. "Chuck, you have to go see her," he stated firmly but softly.

Chuck finally looked up at his friend, who gave him a nod of encouragement. He hesitated a little before slowly getting up and walking towards the direction of Blair's room. While walking down the hall, Chuck's heart raced faster and faster, it hurt. It felt like it was about to burst through his chest, and break at the same time. His knees were getting weaker and weaker; he didn't think he'd be able to make it without collapsing.

Finally, they made it, and, right on time, the nurses exited the room, and the nurse that had slammed the door in front of his face came out. "How is she?" he asked her without second thoughts.

The nurse looked up at Chuck checked the clipboard she was holding, and scanned through it. "She's going to be just fine in a day or two, no broken bones, just a lot of bruises, cuts and wounds, she should be awake in a while."

He sighed in relief. And before Nate or Chuck could ask, the nurse beat them to it.

"You can go in and see her now," she told them.

Chuck looked at Nate again, who smiled encouragingly and patted him on the back before he nervously went inside the room.

Once he got inside the room, he instantly heard the soft and constant beeping of the heart rate monitor, but he could only keep his eyes on Blair. He swallowed the lump in his throat. Her ivory-colored skin was paler than usual but it was covered by the bruises she had on her face, along with a small cut on her cheek. His tears were so close to falling, but he didn't let them, and he grabbed a chair and pulled it next to her bed and sat on it. He took her hand in his, and his heart sank. It was cold. He wrapped both of his hands around hers and kissed them.

"Oh Blair," he murmured, barely above a whisper. With one hand on either side of hers, her hand was sandwiched by both of his; he leaned his elbows on the edge of her bed and put his hands, including hers, against his forehead, making him look like he was praying. He closed his eyes, his tears finally falling, when he felt something between his hands move.

He jerked his head up, and saw her fingers moving faintly in his. He stood up and saw that the heart rate monitor was reacting more than it did when he entered, the beeps became more constant and a ray of hope just dawned on him.

"Blair?" he whispered, looking at her bruised face. He tore one hand away from hers and cupped her cheek. More tears began to fall and he felt her hand give his the slightest squeeze. "Blair?"

He looked intently at her, watching for movements like a hawk, and to his relief, her eyes fluttered open very slowly, blinking a few times before staying open steadily. He was so happy he could scream.

"Chuck?" she whispered so softly he almost didn't hear it.

He sighed in relief before saying, "Jesus, Blair," then he caressed her cheek softly. She flinched slightly. A sense of alarm rushed through him and he tore his hand away from her cheek. "D-Did I hurt you?"

Tears started forming in her eyes, making them glassy. "I-It hurts, Chuck...Everywhere...I-I can't –"

"Shhh...It's okay," he assured her. "I'm here," he told her, looking at their intertwined fingers then back to her and kissed her hand.

She smiled weakly at him and caressed his cheek, wiping away the tears that had fallen. She looked into his eyes and it was evident that there was something bothering him, and she had a feeling that it wasn't just about his father's death anniversary. "What's –?"

"I'm sorry," he blurted. Her face softened when she heard this, her lips parting as though she was going to say something. Yet she found herself speechless. "For the way I treated you today," he continued, holding the hand that was caressing his cheek. "I shouldn't have said those things to you."

"Chuck, you were in pain," she replied.

"Still," he said. "That doesn't compare to the pain you're feeling now."

"True," she whispered hoarsely. Then she smiled weakly at him once more. "But you're here now."

He smiled back at her softly. "Yes, I am. And I didn't mean what I said. I do need you, I don't know what I'd do without you," he told her as he caressed her hand.

"I need you too," she admitted. "Chuck –"

"I don't want you to leave, Blair. Not now, not ever," he told her firmly, his eyes piercing through hers. "I need you to tell me you'll stay and never leave me."

She nodded, her tears falling. "Yes," she whispered. "I promise." He lowered himself and kissed her softly on the lips.

They pulled apart but stayed close to each other, their noses and foreheads touching. "I love you," they said at the same time. They smiled, loving how much they connected.

"Where's Serena?" she asked softly.

"In a room down the hall," he replied.

"Oh. Is she okay?"

He nodded. "Nate is here too," he mused, knowing what she would think about this.

Her smile grew wider. "Of course," she said happily. For several months, they've been hinting to Nate, they've been hinting to Serena, and here they are, quite surprised that they didn't do anything more to get them together faster.

A few moments of silence passed by, with the two of them staying in that position, when Blair broke the silence. "Chuck?"

"Hmm?"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything."

"Right now, all I want you to do is go to the cemetery and say goodbye," she told him.

He blinked a few times and pulled back. "What?"

"Go," she said with a loving look in her eyes.

"Blair, I'm not gonna leave you here," he said in a firm yet gentle manner, bending down again.

"Go," she repeated, putting a hand on his cheek again.

"No, I'm not gonna leave you," he told her.

"It'll only be for a while," she explained. "Anyway, Nate and Serena are here, and Dorota's probably on her way. Just go, Chuck. And then come back when you're done...I'll still be here, I promise."

He searched her eyes. "A-Are you sure?"

She pulled him down gently and kissed him. When they pulled apart, Chuck stood up straight, lifted her hand so he could kiss it, and slowly backed away, all the while not letting go of her hand yet and said, "I love you, Blair."

She smiled back at him. "I love you too, Chuck."

* * *

_**~FIN~**_

_**Oh wow. I liked writing this story, it was...touching. I was totally touched by it. Sigh. Just look at Chuck and Blair here, so in love, yet, unaware of the tragedy that will strike them just a few episodes later. But I wouldn't change a thing. ;)**_

_**Anyway, I would love to know what you guys think. (:**_


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